Darling but Finicky Macarons

Last Year's Less Sweet Chocolate Macarons

It's been a year since I made my first attempt at macarons, those darling, but finicky, little confections. I had been seeing photos of them for years already, and making them was on the "to-do" list, which sometimes takes a while before getting around to. I have a serious lack of "round tuits" to hand. I also had never tasted macarons before, and when I finally did try some from a new local "patisserie," which does a fantastic job at all their pastries and breads mind you, I was really surprised and dismayed at how tooth-achingly sweet they were. At that time last year then, I was searching for ways to make them less sweet, and so called my confections "Less-Sweet Chocolate Macarons." Not necessarily a glamorous name, but it fit the bill, and they were amazing. They were also a LOT of work, even for me.

I guess sometimes time passes and we forget the magnitude of a thing. Kind of like having a baby and swearing off sex, only to come back once all that trauma wears off and decide to give it another go. Maybe it wasn't quite that bad, after all? 

Unsuccessful First Attempt
at Matcha Macarons

So it happened that last week I got an idea. I swear absolutely that I did not look up a single recipe, nor had I even seen macarons in photos for quite a while. I decided that if cocoa in macarons would  help making them less sweet, then surely Matcha tea powder would do the same thing. And then I thought about what I would use to fill Matcha flavored macarons and came up with two possible options: raspberry or orange. As it happened, I had a frozen bag of raspberries that needed using, and so raspberry filling it would be.

What are "Macarons?"

Macarons are a confection made with meringue and almond meal. There is no flour being added to the batter, so these are essentially meringue "cookies" of a sort, and by their nature, gluten-free. There is a delicate balance needed with the ingredients to get the texture just right, otherwise the characteristic smooth tops and pretty, frilly little "feet" at the base of the cookies will not happen. The batter itself has to come out slightly thick, but acting much as a lava flow: slow, but implacable movement. If it is too runny, it will spread all out of shape and make thin, unappetizing wafers. If the batter is too thick, it cannot spread at all, and the tops can never become smooth. The little frilly feet cannot form when baking. There is no "give." And so, that delicate balance needed. I speak from experience. 😉

I have most often seen macarons as quite small confections of a bite or two size. They can be made larger, if preferred, but the baking time will need to be altered as well, to accommodate the proper setting and drying time. I like the 1½-inch diameter size, but they can be made smaller, as well.

First Attempt

I used the recipe in the links above last year, substituting Matcha tea powder for the cocoa. But somehow, my measurements were totally off or something, and instead of adorable little cookie confections, they turned out rather incredible-hulk-ish. There was far too much dry ingredient to be able to mix into the meringue. There was far too much Matcha tea powder, period. The whole mixture was dry and deep dark, dark green. Not a single view of the little "feet" at the base of the cookies. Not a single glossy top. Not terribly appetizing or appealing (note the photo above right). The one great thing was the filling, which turned out perfect. 
 

Successful Matcha Macarons with Raspberry Filling

In the meanwhile, a couple of days back, out of curiosity, I Googled "Matcha Macarons with Raspberry Filling". You cannot even believe how many recipes are out there for this same combination. Oh well; nothing new under the sun, I continue to aver. Still, my idea also encompasses the less-sweet aspect, and the way I chose to make my filling was totally different that those recipes I read. This version is all my own. Once the raspberry puree is fully cooked down to a thick paste, it is nicely tart, toning down the very sweet icing and making a great counterpoint to the less-sweet meringue cookie. Plus, you just cannot beat that lovely, all-natural color.

Raspberry Filling

Raspberry Filling

Makes about 2 cups

12 ounces frozen or fresh, unsweetened raspberries
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

Place the raspberries in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until well broken down. Remove from heat and pour into a sieve over a bowl. Use a spoon to press out raspberry juices and any solids that will pass through the sieve. Keep pressing until the seeds are looking very dry inside the sieve. With a clean spoon scrape off any thick raspberry puree from the outside of the sieve and stir well into the juices. Discard the seeds and return the puree to a clean saucepan. Set over low heat, allowing the puree to cook down to approximately 2 tablespoons of very thick puree. Let cool, not refrigerated.

Straining raspberries - cooked down puree - mixed with icing

Make the frosting by first placing the butter into a stand mixer and beating on medium speed for 8 minutes, until very light and nearly white in color, scraping down sides and bottom as needed. Slow the beating speed to as low as it will go and add in the confectioners' sugar and salt. Beat gently about 1 minute, to incorporate the dry ingredients, then increase to medium speed and beat a further 6 minutes, scraping down sides twice during this time. The frosting will be very light and fluffy. Add in the completely cooled 2 tablespoons of raspberry puree and beat well to completely incorporate.

Use immediately or refrigerate, well covered for up to a week. Bring completely to room temperature before using.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Round Two . . .

As I said, somehow last week I had to have measured or weighed wrong. It can happen to the best of us. I went back and re-examined my older recipe, re-read my own blog, and still couldn't find any flaw in it, so apparently it was my measuring at fault last week. Today, I tried it again. I still had plenty of the filling left to use, so it was only the macarons themselves I had to re-do. And today I worked carefully and measured carefully and they came out - if not completely perfect - at least 98% close. I am more than happy. The tops are not 100% smooth. But there are lovely little feet at the base of each cookie. The flavor of the Matcha is lovely and not overdone. I am happy. 

Matcha Macarons with Raspberry Filling

In order to make macarons less sweet, there are a couple of things that can be done without totally screwing up the delicate balance of the recipe. 

1. It is possible to substitute 1/10th of the confectioners' sugar (but no more, at the risk of altering the consistency needed) with rice flour. Simply take the total amount of the confectioners' sugar called for in a recipe, easiest done by weight, and multiply by 1/10th:  8 ounces x .10 = .8 ounce. This means that this same amount (.8 ounce) is removed from the confectioners' sugar, leaving 7.2 ounces of the sugar, as well as measuring out .8 ounce of rice flour to add back in. This keeps the proportion even, without upsetting balance.
2. You may substitute 1 tablespoon of the almond meal with 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder or Matcha tea powder, both bitter on their own, which further helps tone down the sweetness.

Today, I re-weighed and re-measured these substitutions, to ensure that my older recipe was okay. As the photos demonstrate, this time they came out quite well. I think I might add in just a little more egg white, if I was making these again. Maybe using 4 ounces of egg white would give a bit more looseness to the batter, making for smoother tops. That will be my next test.

Altogether, the macarons came out really wonderfully, with far less bitterness from the Matcha than that first time, and the nice bright and tart raspberry filling just pops with flavor.

Matcha Macarons with Raspberry Filling

Made 76 (1½-inch) individual macarons or 38 sandwiches

Matcha Macarons with Raspberry Filling

7.2 ounces (204 grams) confectioners' sugar
0.8 ounces (22 grams) rice flour
5.4 ounces (153 grams) almond meal
0.2 ounces (4 grams, or 1 tablespoon) good quality Matcha tea powder
3.85 ounces egg whites (3 to 4 medium), completely room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1.4 ounces (3 tablespoons) superfine sugar

One recipe for Raspberry Filling, above

Set the egg whites in a squeaky clean glass or metal bowl and allow them to come completely to room temperature, at least 2 hours.

Draw 1½-inch circles, spaced at least 1-inch apart, on the underside of three sheets of parchment. Set the parchment onto three baking sheets with the circles on the under side. They can be seen through, giving a template. Make at least 80 circles. Set baking sheets aside.

Weigh out the almond meal first and pass through a sifter or sieve with medium holes. Any almond bits that do not pass through, place these into a tablespoon measure. Remove a further amount from the sifted almond meal, enough to top off the tablespoon measure, leveled. This tablespoon of almond will not be used; discard or return to the bag of meal. Return the sifted almond meal to the sifter and add in the tablespoon of Matcha powder. Sift again, and once completely sieved through, return any bits of almond that did not pass through, back to the bowl with the rest (some become so coated with the Matcha powder that they seem too big, but they are not). Once more, add the sifted almond-Matcha mixture back to the sifter. Add in the confectioners' sugar and the rice flour and sift the whole mixture into the bowl and set aside.

Prepare a piping bag, or a zip-top bag and have it ready. The batter will need to be used right away once finalized.

With extremely clean beaters and a stand or hand mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they are very foamy and holding soft peaks. Continue beating, raising the speed and adding in the superfine sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until well incorporated and the mixture is holding stiff peaks.

Using a large spatula, fold the dry mixture into the meringue in three additions, folding each addition in completely before adding the next third. It should take a total of about 50 to 60 "folds" to completely incorporate all the dry ingredients. (Folding: Spatula down the center of the bowl from 12 to 6 o'clock and continuing the swipe down around and up the side edges of the bowl and folding over to the center. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat, until all the dry is mixed in.) At this point, the batter should resemble a lava flow, a slow but definite slide off the spatula. If not, then do a couple more folds.

Scoop the batter into the prepared bag and snip off the tip to make a ½-inch opening. Be careful, the batter is soft and will start to run out. Pipe the batter inside the circle templates on the parchment. The batter should spread only slightly. Once finished piping all the circles on one sheet, set the bag aside and with both hands, lift the baking sheet and let it drop at least three times from a height of about 6 or 7 inches. This helps to release air bubbles. If any air bubbles appear on the surface but do not break open, use a straight pin to burst them. Set the pan aside and proceed with piping rounds of batter inside the circles on the next sheet, repeating with the lifting and dropping once that pan is filled. If there is more batter, continue on the next sheet of parchment.

Once finished piping all the batter, set the trays aside for 30 to 60 minutes and let them air dry. The tops of the meringue cookies should be dry to the (gentle) touch. Fifteen minutes before you are going to bake the cookies, set the oven to 300 degrees. Set one tray in the oven and time for 5 minutes. Rotate the tray 180 degrees and bake for a further 5 minutes. Then put the handle of a wooden spoon in the oven door to keep it slightly opened and bake a further 5 minutes. Once done, replace the tray with the next one and repeat the sequence.

When all the meringue cookies are baked and cooled, you can begin removing them from the parchment. Understand that these meringues are quite delicate and need to be handled gently. They should not stick badly to the parchment, but if they do not lift off easily, use the method of sliding the parchment over the edge of the counter and effecting release of the meringues that way.

If your filling is prepared, pipe a small amount in the center of the underside of one cooled meringue, then gently press a second meringue over top. Repeat with all the meringues.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Making Macarons with Less Sugar

Right off the bat I will say that my experience with making macarons (NOT Macaroons, the coconuty sticky cookies) nearly made me swear off of them forever. The one and only time I tried eating them was not favorable, despite their inimitable cuteness factor. They are tiny, darling little sandwich cookies, generally shown in all sorts of improbable colors of the rainbow and I bought a few from our local "patisserie." They were so cloyingly sweet that I had a very hard time even swallowing, and could not make myself take another bite. Do not misunderstand! I have a severe sweet tooth. But those little macarons were so sweet it made my teeth hurt and my throat close.

Less Sugar Chocolate Macarons

So the reason I decided to try making them was all about this upcoming "Renaissance Festival," (formerly Winefest Renaissance). One of the wines I chose was Stella Rosa 'Black.'  It is a slightly sweet, slightly sparkling red wine, quite similar to Banfi's Rosa Regale, and at about half the price. I didn't know what it would be like; sometimes how a thing is described is not exactly what it turns out to be. With the description, however, I felt it would be enough like the Rosa Regale, which we have been drinking for many, many years now, to at least make something and try it out. 

Banfi's Rosa Regale & Stella Rosa 'Black'

My usual dish that I make to serve with the Rosa Regale is Brie in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce. I had never set the recipe out in this blog, just because it is a bit complicated. While I have made it countless times, I have yet, ever, to have it bake and not leak cheese out of the pouches of phyllo. I finally did put the recipe out here, because let me say - it is fabulous, flavor-wise. And the Rosa Regale could not pair any better. 

The thing that the Rosa Regale and this new (for me) Stella Rosa 'Black' have in common is the "Brachetto" grape. Both wines have a strong leaning to raspberry flavors, though the descriptions include strawberry or even cherry. Brachetto is a red grape, sometimes described as a "black" grape. The flavors described in the wine world are things like:

"Strawberry, Raspberry, Rose Petal, Fruity,

Tree Bark, Tar, Clove, Flowers, Violet, Damp Forest."

Some of these might sound strange, when describing a semi-sweet red wine, but though I may not have thought of these adjectives on my own, I can most certainly identify with the descriptors. 

All this is by way of saying why I served the wine with Brie in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce, and why it went so well. There are those elements that would seem to describe a non-sweet wine. But in fact, the very first time we tried the Rosa Regale (then it was called "Brachetto d'Acqui), was at a wine tasting, and the food pairing was a dessert of not-too-sweet chocolate gelato with fresh raspberries. Since I loved that pairing as well, I was thinking along the lines of something that would have chocolate, somehow. Hazelnuts were something also mentioned in things that pair with the Brachetto wines, and my thought was Hazelnut Macarons.

AHA! We Finally Get to the Crux of the Matter

Less Sweet Chocolate Macarons
with Chocolate Ganache Filling

All right then, back to the little macarons. I wanted something with chocolate and hazelnut. And I wanted something not so cloyingly sweet as those I had previously tasted. I looked up recipes for macarons, and specifically hazelnut macarons. That search led me to lots of places, and also to places with less sugar types. What I gleaned from all the searching and researching, is that to obtain the particular texture and such, that is equated with macarons, too much tinkering with the recipe will ruin the little cookies. A tiny bit of leeway is possible, but beyond that - watch out!

Add to that the sheer persnikety-ness of making them. If it's too humid, they won't come out. If you make the French meringue method, it is prone to work great one day and terribly the next. The preferred method is using Italian Meringue. Crud. I really hate making Italian Meringue. Some places say it is best to sift the almond meal (or hazelnut meal, in my case) at least three separate times, placing it into the food processor with confectioners' sugar to try and make the nut particles small enough to pass through the sifter. Then there is the thought floating around that is is best if you sieve the egg whites before using them.

Have any of you, ever, tried sieving egg whites? Great heavens, it takes FOREVER! 

Ultimately, my study led me to a couple of concepts for less-sweet macarons. 

1. You can substitute 1/10th of the confectioners' sugar with rice flour. More, and you ruin the texture.
2. Substituting 1 tablespoon of the nut meal with 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa will also reduce the sweetness, as cocoa is bitter on its own. 

Add to that a less-sweet filling, and I felt this would result in an overall less sweet macaron that could pair well with the Stella Rosa 'Black' wine. 

And Then, I Made Them . . . 

After 5½ hours, I was hot, tired and ready to throw in the towel. And all I had were 30 cookies. And if I was making these for the Renaissance Festival (Wine Event), I would need a minimum of 150. Double that, if they were really small. No way. No way AT ALL. I tried one recipe with the Italian Meringue. I still hate making Italian Meringue. And really, after all that work, they didn't really come out that well. The French meringue version (just beat the egg whites with sugar to glossy stiff peaks) worked far better, came out smoother.

I never even tried making the ganache, because I knew I was not going to make this recipe for the event. I had some leftover icing in a container, and just piped that into the cookies to make the little sandwiches, and my husband and I ate them for dessert over the next few days. Actually, until the last day there were any left, it was only my husband eating them. I was unable to make myself eat them. Plus, that icing in the middle was way too sweet. But when I found a bottle of the Stella Rosa 'Black' in our grocery, I bought it, chilled it and opened it to try with the cookies, sweetness notwithstanding. 

And it was Like a Miracle!

I swear, angels sang!

The little macarons, despite that too-sweet icing inside, were absolutely fabulous with the Stella Rosa 'Black.' I couldn't believe it! It just couldn't have been a better pairing. Despite all this, I still will not use these for the Renaissance Festival!

Ultimately, since I couldn't find any hazelnut meal locally, I used almond meal, which is what these little cookies are supposed to be made with anyway. Ultimately, I never got around to buying the Nutella to add to the chocolate ganache, either. So these turned out to be just Less-Sweet Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Ganache Filling.

I had saved most of the French meringue batch in the freezer. Yesterday I filled them with chocolate ganache. I used about ¾ 65% bittersweet chocolate and ¼ 85% chocolate. The ganache was lovely, perfect, and really not very sweet at all. Perfect. I filled the little cookies and they are resting, since they are really best after about 3 days. I expect to taste these with the remainder of the bottle of Stella Rosa 'Black' and be thrilled. So here is the preferred recipe I ultimately created with the French meringue method.  It is absolutely best to weigh the ingredients, so this is how I set out the recipe.

Less Sweet Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Ganache Filling

Makes about 32 sandwich cookies

Less Sweet Chocolate Macarons
with Chocolate Ganache Filling

MACARONS:
7.2 ounces confectioners' sugar
0.8 ounce rice flour
4.4 ounces almond meal
0.2 ounce unsweetened cocoa powder (1 tablespoon)
3.75 ounces egg whites (3 - 4 egg whites), at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

GANACHE FILLING:
¼ cup whipping cream
2 ounces 65% bittersweet chocolate
1 ounce 85% dark chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 

Cut sheets of parchment to fit at least 3 large baking sheets. On the reverse side of the parchment, trace around some item that is approximately 1¼-inch diameter (a bottle cap, or a large icing tip), making circles spaced 1-inch apart. Make even numbers of the circles, as they will all need to be paired when filled. Make circles on the reverse of a second sheet. Set the parchment with the drawn circles facing the baking sheet, so none of the lead or ink gets on the cookies. Set aside.

Combine the confectioners' sugar, rice flour, almond meal and cocoa powder in a bowl. Stir, then pass the mixture through a sifter or sieve with medium holes (not a colander with large holes). A very fine-holed sieve will not work. If any of the nut mixture will not pass through the sifter, place the remainder in a food processor to attempt making the nuts into much smaller bits. Pass these through the sifter. Repeat as needed, until all the mixture has been passed through the sifter. Then, re-sift the whole mixture again, and then again. And once more, if there is any nut mixture remaining in the sifter, process it over again until fine. Set the sifted mixture aside.

Place the room temperature egg whites into a squeaky-clean bowl with the cream of tartar and with a hand mixer with equally clean beaters, beat the whites at medium speed until they form soft peaks. Increase to high speed and slowly add in the granulated sugar, beating until the mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks (the peaks should stand strait up, without drooping at all).

Sift about a third of the almond mixture over the egg whites and with a rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients. Sift another third of the almond mixture over and fold it in gently, then repeat with the remaining third of the almond mixture. The egg whites will deflate quite a bit, due to the oils in the nuts, but this is expected. The mixture should be nicely glossy and slowly slide off a spoon, something like lava flowing.

A piping bag is the best and easiest to use to create the little circles on the parchment, but it is possible to just drop the mixture from a spoon if need be.

Make as many little cookies as possible, filling the circles drawn on the parchment (clearly visible through the paper). Once done with one sheet, lift the sheet and drop it onto the counter about three times (from a height of about 6 inches), to release any air bubbles. Set the sheet of cookies aside to rest and firm up for a minimum of 30 minutes, or up to an hour or so. The cookies should be able to be touched gently with no stickiness. Repeat with the next sheet and parchment as needed.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Once the macarons have rested, set them on a center rack in the oven. Immediately reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Bake them for 14 or 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The cookies should barely color, and the characteristic ruffled "feet" should have appeared. Once done, remove the pan from the oven and slide the parchment with the cookies onto a rack to cool. 

Return the oven to 400 degrees before placing the next batch into the oven, then repeat the process: lower heat to 300 degrees, bake, turning halfway, then remove to rack to cool.

Once cooled, remove the cookies from the parchment very gently, using the parchment itself to push the cookies off, rather than try and lift the cookie. 

The cookies may be filled immediately, though they are best eaten after 2 or 3 days. Unfilled, they may be frozen for up to 3 weeks, wrapped very well. Then, simply thaw, fill and set aside for 2 - 3 days before eating.

GANACHE: Chop the chocolate(s) very fine and place in a bowl. Heat the cream to just under boiling and pour over the chocolate. Stir with a silicone spatula until all the chocolate has melted. Add in the butter and stir until all the butter has dissolved and dispersed. Set the ganache aside to cool to room temperature before using. 

Pipe a thin layer of ganache onto one half of a cookie, then place another on top to form the little sandwiches.  


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.